Tekka-Tac-Toe

Amy and I love to entertain and cook.  Obviously we love to bring friends and family around the table to break bread, but it also means that we get to cook and sometimes even try new things on dinner victims...I mean guests.  Singapore is an amazing place to experiment with new flavors due to the abundance of fresh produce and exposure to new recipes from a variety of cultures.

We make frequent visits to the Tekka Market in Little India.  Wet markets are fresh food markets- sort of like a farmers market. They are called that because the floors are wet due to the cleaning of the floors, ice-melting, fish-cleaning and vegetable-washing. (We wouldn’t advise you to wear your new Prada sandals here.)

They have pretty much everything you could ever want in a wet market from fruit, vegetables and spices to little sharks, huge prawns and chickens chopped up however you’d like. (See Why is your time more important than mine? for more information on shopping and lifestyle in Singapore.)  There are plenty of things in the market that we can’t even identify. The Tekka Market is known for having great vegetables and meats. There are other markets that specialize in areas such as flowers (Tiong Bahru Market) or live big turtles, frogs and eels (Chinatown Market). Here is a great website highlighting the five best wet markets in Singapore if you’re interested.

Clockwise L-R : The line of cars to get into the parking lot for the market; the butcher; an overhead shot of the fish and meat part of the market; the Tekka Market is located off of Buffalo Road. 

We learned a long time ago to never go grocery stopping on an empty stomach so our first stop is normally to grab some curry at the hawker center (think mall food court) at the market.  Amy knows she can get me join her at the market if it includes a curry meal.  My favorite stop is the naan place to get some gobi (cauliflower/potato dish), dal (lentils) and garlic naan (a flatbread).  Amy heads a few stalls down for some rice with chicken served on a banana leaf.  All of that amazing food and we are usually so full we could burst for under $13!

Our next stop is at Chia Vegetables. What I love about this shop is that the people are very nice and helpful but they also have great prices.  We can get a full basket of vegetables for the same price as a head of lettuce and some brussels sprouts in the grocery store. 

From here we normally head to get some fruit.  There are a few good places to get bananas and a variety of citrus fruits if you go exploring. (They have great mango here!)

On our last trip we decided to make a purchase from the fish and meat section of the market. We didn’t adventure too far outside of our comfort zone, but we did acquire some delicious prawns for our Sunday night BBQ with friends. They were delicious!

When you come visit, we will take you on a tour of the market and treat you to some curry.

Until then,

Raegen and Amy